When you notice that to produce you need to get permission from those who do not produce anything; when you check that money flows to those who do not deal with goods but with favors; when you realize that many become rich by the bribery and for influence more than by your work and that the laws do not protect you against them, but on the contrary, they are the ones who are protected against you; when you discover that corruption is rewarded and honesty becomes a self-sacrifice, then you can assert, without fear of being wrong, that your society is doomed - Ayn Rand
Yes, prescient to say the least.
2,136 posted on 03/13/2023 3:05:41 PM PDT by Kenny